CLEVELAND, Ohio -- It sounds like Ubaldo Jimenez is going to keep taking his turn in the Indians' rotation for the foreseeable future.

After one good start and two miserable ones this season, Jimenez is 1-12 with a 7.58 ERA in 17 starts since the 2012 All-Star break. Jimenez's latest effort lasted 2 1/3 innings Tuesday as he walked five and gave up seven runs in a 7-2 loss to Boston.

"It's only been a few starts," said manager Terry Francona on Wednesday afternoon. "If we lost our patience with everybody after a few starts, we wouldn't have a team. I get the mail. [They say] send him down.

"Our job is to make guys better. Not get rid of them every time they struggle. We wouldn't have a team, coaches or manager [if we did it that way]. We need to help him get better."

The Indians can't send Jimenez to the minors because he's out of options. They could designate him for assignment or try to trade him. Other than that, he's not going anywhere.

Francona doesn't want to hear about last year and how it pertains to Jimenez. Not many people do, but he led the American League in defeats (17), wild pitches (16) and finished second in walks (95).

"You can't pitch for last year," said Francona. "It doesn't work. It just makes it harder.

"We need to figure out what did he do good, what didn't he do good. Build on what he did well and fix what he didn't do well. If he goes back to last August, he has no chance. No one is good enough to go back and fix last year."

Regarding 2013, Jimenez (0-2, 11.25) is going to start throwing two bullpen sessions between starts. He did that in spring training, but stopped when the regular season started. Jimenez feels it's important for him to get on the mound as much as possible. Francona agrees, particularly when it comes to the positioning of his landing foot on his delivery.

"His direction to the plate is so important to him," said Francona. "His front foot starts wandering, his ball flattens out and left-handers get a real good look at him."

Asked when the clock could strike 12 on Jimenez, Francona said, "I'm talking in general here because we're only three starts in. You start getting rid of pitching, you might come up in June, July and August and not have any. There is a lot of things to factor in."

Kluber, a starter, was in the bullpen Wednesday night. He was also a safety net if Scott Kazmir hit a bump between here and his scheduled start Saturday in Houston. Kazmir (right rib cage) threw a bullpen session Wednesday, but still hasn't been activated.

Bourn was spiked in the finger Sunday against Chicago diving into first base to beat out an infield single.

Still out: Jason Kipnis didn't play Wednesday and isn't expected to play Thursday because of a sore left elbow. The Indians' second baseman has not played since Friday because of an extension injury. Francona felt he could benefit from the extra rest to get ready for the weekend series in Houston.

"If we give him two more days off, he has a chance to come back to the lineup and stay in the lineup rather than coming back too early and still feeling it," said Francona.

He would also miss Boston left-hander Jon Lester on Thursday night. Kipnis is hitting .125 (4-for-32) with two RBI.

Follow Us

cleveland.com is powered by Plain Dealer Publishing Co. and Northeast Ohio Media Group. All rights reserved (About Us).The material on this site may not be reproduced, distributed, transmitted, cached or otherwise used, except with the prior written permission of Northeast Ohio Media Group LLC.